Exterior Wall Framing Labor

The wall framing labor costs will be estimated using the Detailed Breakdown section of the National Construction Estimator. The Detailed Breakdown section separates the wall framing into individual elements such as plates, studs, back and blocking, temporary bracing, and sheathing. Take care to make sure that it is the Detailed Breakdown section that is being used. The National Construction Estimator provides four different methods of preparing framing estimates: a Rule-of-thumb, an assembly, a piecework, and a detail breakdown method. The detailed breakdown provides a more detailed and comprehensive method of calculating labor costs. The Detailed Breakdown section of the National Construction Estimator is the final section in the residential framing portion of the manual. NCE Figure 9-1 shows a screenshot of the introductory paragraph of the Detailed Breakdown section. All detailed breakdown cost sections will follow the introduction.

The quantities for estimating exterior wall framing labor will be taken from the basic takeoffs that you have already done.

Estimating Wall Plate Labor

The National Construction Estimator provides two different options for estimating wall plate labor, a sill plates subsection and a plates subsection. The introduction to each section provides a description and explanation of which section would be appropriate in a given situation. NCE Figure 9-2 shows a composite screenshot of both subsections.

The description of the sill plates section explains that it is to be used for sill plates that use pressure treated lumber and are drilled and attached to a foundation using anchor bolts. This subsection would be used on the garage wall plates where it is drilled for anchor bolts. The plates subsection uses untreated lumber and the sill plates that are set upon a floor. These types of plates are typically nailed to the subfloor, such as would be done for the exterior walls. There are occasions where a treated sill plate is used on a concrete floor, such as a basement floor. In this case, the plates subsection would be used even though treated lumber is used for the bottom plate. These types of plates are usually just nailed using powder actuated fasteners and not drill-to-fit anchor bolts.

The quantity of top plates would be estimated by multiplying the lineal feet of wall by the number of top plates. Typically, the quantity for labor is estimated from the data in the header section without an added waste factor because, as is shown in NCE Figure 9-2, the NCE accounts for a ten percent waste factor when pricing plate labor. Based on this, the labor cost for installing the top plates would be

114 Lineal Feet Wall × 2 Plates × .60 LF = $136.80

The labor costs for installing the bottom plate would be completed in a similar fashion and would be

114 Lineal Feet Wall × 1 Plate × .60 LF = $68.40

Estimating Wall Stud Labor

Figure 9-37 shows a screenshot of the studding section from the National Construction Estimator. The cost is priced per square footage of wall area on one side of the wall. Additional information is also provided in the introduction, explaining that openings less than 16 feet wide are not subtracted from the square footage of the wall. Additional cost is added for each corner or partition.

Based upon the labor cost for installing 2 × 6 studding on 16-inch centers, the cost for the studding labor would be

912 SF Wall Area × $1.10 per SF = $1,003.20

Additional cost would be added for each corner or intersection. The header shows 12 corners and partitions, and the labor cost would be

12 Corners and Partitions × $2.78 = $33.36

Estimating Wall Sheathing Labor

The wall sheathing area is calculated by multiplying the wall sheathing height by the wall length. The wall sheathing height typically includes the wall height and the height of the floor joist space, which includes the mudsill height, floor joist height, and floor sheathing thickness. Figure 9-38 shows a screenshot of the wall sheathing section of the NCE.

The cost for wall sheathing is calculated by multiplying the following:

Wall Length × Wall Sheathing Height × Wall Sheathing × Labor Cost

114 LF × 9.3 FT × 1 × .50 = $530.10

Estimating Temporary Bracing Labor

The quantity of temporary bracing labor is determined by estimating one lineal foot of temporary bracing for each lineal foot of wall. The material costs were estimated using 50 percent of the wall length because the bracing material can be removed and reused, however, the total wall length will be used for estimating the labor costs. Excel Figure 9-5 shows the NCE temporary bracing section.

The cost for temporary bracing labor would be

114 LF × .60 = $68.40

Estimating Backing and Nailers Labor

The quantity of backing and nailers labor is determined by estimating one lineal foot of labor for each lineal foot of wall. NCE Figure 9-6 shows the NCE backing and nailers section.

The backing and nailer cost would be

114 LF × .77 = $87.78

Estimate Example 9-2 shows the exterior wall framing labor.

Floor Framing Labor

The floor framing labor will be estimated using the Detailed Breakdown section of the Residential section of the National Construction Estimator. The labor costs include installing floor girders, girder support posts, post base, post caps, floor joists, installing bridging and blocking, installing joist hangers, and installing subflooring.

Install Girder

There are no girder nor girder installation costs on this project.

Install Girder Support Post

There are no girder support installation costs on this project.

Install Post Base

There is no girder post base cost on this project.

Install Post Cap

There is no girder post cap cost on this project.

Install Floor Joists

The floor joist wood, TJI truss type subsection of the NCE will be used to estimate installing the floor joists. The cost is priced per square footage of floor area. The square foot floor area will be used to calculate the area for the floor joists. Figure 9-7 shows a screenshot of the TJI floor joist pricing from the National Construction Estimator.

Based upon the 1,152 square footage of floor area and the price for installing floor joists labor based upon a cost of 0.57 per square foot of floor area, the cost would be as follows:

1152 SF Floor Area × 0.57 SF = $656.64

Install Bridging and Blocking

The bridging or blocking subsection of the residential section of the NCE will be used to price the labor cost for installing bridging and blocking. The labor costs are priced based upon each piece of blocking installed and the spacing of the floor joists. Figure 9-10 shows a screenshot of the bridging and blocking pricing from the National Construction Estimator. Based upon 16 pieces of blocking entered into the header section and an installation cost of $1.91 per piece, the total cost for installation of bridging and blocking would be 17 Pieces × $1.90 = $30.56

Installing Joist Hangers

The Framing Connectors section of the residential subsection of the National Construction Estimator will be used to price the installation cost for joist hangers. The top flange hangers 2 inches × 12 inches (LB212) will be used as it is the closest to the hangers used. The cost is priced per hanger (NCE Figure 9-9).

Based upon the previously determined quantity of three, and an installation cost per hanger of $1.70, the total cost would be as follows:

3 Hangers × $1.70 = $5.10

Install Subflooring

The Subflooring section of the Residential subsection of the National Construction Estimator will be used to price the installation cost of the subflooring. The 3/4-inch OSB Sheathing cost will be used because it is the closest match to the 3/4-inch T&G subflooring installed in the project. The cost is based upon the square footage of the subfloor (NCE Figure 9-10). Based upon the calculated quantity of subflooring of 1,152 square feet and a labor cost of 0.47 per square foot the total would be

1,152 SF × 0.47 = $541.44

Window and Door Header

The labor cost will be taken from the detailed breakdown subsection of the Residential section of the National Construction Estimator. Modifications will be made to the estimating method used in the NCE (NCE Figure 9-11).

This section identifies pricing for two different header styles. The first section is for headers in 2 × 4 walls and the second is for headers in 2 × 6 walls. The assumption is that headers in 2 × 4 walls are four inches wide and are constructed of two pieces of header bearing material and the headers in 2 × 6 walls are constructed of three pieces of header bearing material. Figure 9-67 shows an example of this.

The NCE also prices different material for different header lengths. For example, headers in the “To 3′ Wide (4″ × 4″ header)” category are made of two pieces of 2 × 4 inch framing lumber. Headers that span longer distances are made of wider pieces of framing lumber up to 2 × 12 inches. A careful interpretation of the labor costs for each header style reveals that the labor cost per lineal foot for each header style is essentially the same. For example, if the “To 3′ Wide (4″ × 4″ header)” were used and the header length of three feet were used, the labor cost of $27.90 per each could be divided by the three foot length which would provide a cost of

The same logic applied to the next header style of “Over 3′ wide to 4′ wide (4″ × 6″ header) shows a labor cost of $37.10 per each. If the labor cost were divided by the header length of four feet, the following would result:

The labor cost per lineal foot does go down a little with the larger header sizes, but for the sake of brevity we will use the $9.27 cost for lineal foot for each four-inch wide header. The same logic applied to the six-inch wide headers would result in a cost per lineal foot of

The same logic would be applied to the window header to obtain the cost per lineal foot. The only difference is that when establishing the cost per lineal foot, the minimum window width of two feet would be used.

Specialty Framing Labor

The National Construction Estimator will be used to price the labor costs for the specialty framing of the estimate.

Porch Posts Labor

The porch posts labor costs will be determined from the posts subsection of the detailed breakdown portion of the residential section. NCE Figure 9-12 shows an example of this subsection.

The costs shown are priced per lineal foot and the quantity placed in the spreadsheet is for each eight-foot length of posts. The eight-foot length post will need to be converted to a lineal foot cost by multiplying the eight-foot size by the quantity of two for a total of 16′.

LVL Beam Labor

The LVL beam labor costs will be determined from the Beams subsection of the detailed breakdown portion of the residential section. NCE Figure 9-13 shows an example of this subsection.

The price in the NCE is for 4 × 10-inch beams. The beams are constructed of two 1¾-inch LVL beams, so the 48′ quantity in the materials section is divided in half for a labor quantity of 24′ of LVL beams installed.

Post Base and Post Caps

The Framing Connectors section of the National Construction Estimator will be used to determine the cost of the porch post base and the porch post caps. NCE Figure 9-14 shows an example of the applicable post base subsection.

NCE Figure 9-15 shows the applicable post cap subsection.

Stair Framing Labor

The National Construction Estimator will be used to price the labor cost on framing the stairway landing. Four categories will be estimated.

Job-Built Stairway

NCE Figure 9-16 shows the job-built section of the National Construction Estimator. Different styles of stairs are priced as a unit of each. The description identifies this unit as per stair riser. The “L” of “U” shaped style with the OSB option will be used in this instance.

Stair Landings

Stair landings are priced per square foot of landing area. Previously, the landing was calculated at three feet wide by four feet long for a total of 12 square feet.

Landing Hangers

NCE Figure 9-17 shows a composite view of two subsections of the Framing Connectors section of the NCE. Two types of framing connectors are to be installed in the stair landing. Four 2 × 0 U-type joist hangers and four 9-inch L-type connectors.

Estimating the Truss Framing Labor

The truss framing labor cost will be determined by using prices from the National Construction Estimator. NCE Figure 9-18 shows an example of the roof trusses subsection.

Just as is the case with the truss framing material section, there are three basic truss labor options, including scissor truss, Fink “W” (conventional roof truss), and truss with gable fill. The procedure for estimating the labor costs of truss installation will be as follows:

• Any standard style of trusses will be estimated using the Fink truss “W” (conventional roof truss) option. The price is estimated using a square foot cost based upon the square footage of the flat roof area, including roof overhangs.
• Any modified ceiling truss will be estimated using the “scissor truss” option. The price is estimated using a square foot cost based upon the square footage of the flat roof area, including overhangs.
• Any specialty type truss will be estimated using the “truss with gable infill” option. The trusses are estimated and priced per individual truss. These individual trusses are located within the square footage space of the standard and scissor truss areas. The specialty trusses are an addition to the square foot cost of the standard and scissor truss styles. In addition, the specific count of these specialty trusses is obtained using the following guidelines:
• Gable end and special gable end trusses are counted as one each.
• Trusses ganged together such as double girder trusses are counted as two trusses or more depending upon the number of trusses ganged together.
• Hip trusses, or girder hip trusses are counted as one each for each hip or hip girder truss.
• Groups of smaller trusses such as those attached to a hip, or hip girder truss, are counted together as one specialty truss.
• Groups of smaller trusses such as a group of jack or valley trusses are counted as a single truss.

Truss Roof Framing Labor

Truss roof framing labor includes estimating labor for truss installation, roof sheathing, fascia, soffit, and framing connectors. The labor cost for truss roof framing can be taken from the National Construction Estimator.

Truss Roof Framing Labor

The Roof Truss category in the Detailed Breakdown subsection of the Residential section of the National Construction Estimator was previously shown in NCE Figure 9-18. Truss installation labor was broken down into three truss types: the Fink truss “W” (conventional roof truss), the scissor truss, and the truss with gable infill. The individual truss areas for each truss type and the count of the specialty truss was placed in the header of the truss subsection. The same information will be used in estimating the truss labor cost. The craft hours, unit, and unit cost can be found in the National Construction Estimator.

Roof Sheathing Labor

NCE Figure 9-19 shows the “Sheathing, roof” subsection of the National Construction Estimator. The sheathing is priced per square foot of roof sheathing area.

Install Fascia Labor

NCE Figure 9-20 shows the fascia subsection of the National Construction Estimator. The “Hem-fir, S4S, dry, Std and Btr” 2 × 6 per LF option is highlighted. The 2 × 6 option is selected because it is the closest option to the 2 × 4 fascia installed in this project.

The fascia is priced per lineal foot.

Install Gable End Soffits

The gable end soffit labor will be taken from the “Ceiling joists and soffits” category of the detailed breakdown subsection of the residential section of the National Construction Estimator. NCE Figure 9-21 shows the 24-inch centers option highlighted.

The soffits are priced per square foot of soffit area. The soffit area is the area of the overhang of the roof edge formed from the sub-fascia and barge rafters, shown in Figure 9-116. The combined length of the sub-fascia and barge rafters is equal to the lineal feet of roof edge calculated in the Basic Takeoffs. The width of the soffit can be taken from a building section detail, such as Figure 9-147, which shows the overhang as 12 inches. The square footage of soffit area will be equal to

186 ft x 1 ft = 186 ft²

Estimating Truss Hanger, Hurricane Anchors, and Strap Ties

The truss hangers, hurricane anchors, and strap tie labor will be estimated using the “Framing Connector” category of the Residential section of the National Construction Estimator. The labor cost is priced individually for each item based upon quantities determined when calculating material cost. NCE Figure 9-22 shows an example of the hurricane and seismic ties option with the H2.5 tie highlighted. The labor cost is priced at $1.00 for each hurricane tie.

If multiple sizes of the same framing anchor type are not needed, use the higher cost for all items of that type.